A super refreshing grapefruit radler made in collaboration with Sakamichi Brewing, just right for the end of a ride or hike!
[Character]Radlers are a blend of a lager and fruit soda, usually lemonade, designed to be light and refreshing after a hard ride on a bike. Our Radler delivers exactly that, at 4% with a nice pink hue, we used a blend of ruby red grapefruit and monk fruit for sweetness, with a bit of tart citrus blended into a soft clean lager.[Food Pairing]Citrus infused white fish escabeche, white liver bruleed pate, aubergine and pecorino romano salad[Naming]Keen cyclists will be very familiar with the Tour de France's names and customs, but the Lanterne Rouge", literally meaning "red lantern", carries a special meaning. The person in last place is given the Lanterne Rouge but, rather than it being a humiliating title like the wooden spoon in sports such as rugby, it is actually regarded as a sign of sporting endeavour, having been determined to finish the grueling race come what may. With radlers being a style originally made for refreshing cyclists at the end of a long ride, with the name literally meaning "rider", the pairing of Lanterne Rouge for our red ruby grapefruit radler, and the Maillot Jaune (the "yellow shirt", for the winner), which was made with Setouchi lemon on the Sakamichi side, seemed too fitting a concept to ignore![Brewer's Voice]The origin of the Radler beer style is rather unique. The story goes that, in 1922, local innkeeper Franz Kugler in the Deisenhofen region of Germany was overwhelmed one beautiful day by 13,000 cyclists due to a recently opened trail that he created from Munich to his tavern. In fear of running out of their house pilsner, he started blending it with lemon soda he had on hand in order to be able to supply beer to all the cyclists. The beer was a hit and was then referred to going forward as a “Radler” which translates as cyclist in German. When sitting down with Matthew from Sakamichi and talking about what we wanted to brew, we were often going on tangents about different cycling stories. We learned the story of Sakamichi (lit. mountain road), and how the Sakamichi founders, Matthew and Daniel, are avid touring cyclists, and that this was the original connection that formed their friendship. Additionally, nearly the entire team at KBC cycles to work for their commute. So, when the Radler came to mind, it was too good of a fit not to brew with them. A rather simple beer but incredibly delicious, the Radler starts off with a good lager as a base. The malt we used here is almost all Golden Promise, with just a bit of dextrin malt for some mouthfeel. The hop lineup consists of Mandarina Bavaria and Luminosa for their grapefruit-like nuances. The reason we went with grapefruit-forward hops, as you may have guessed, is that we decided to brew a grapefruit Radler on our side. Being that the fruit is such a critical part of this beer, we didn’t use just any grapefruit, and instead we decided to use “Ruby Red Grapefruit”. This grapefruit is a bit more challenging to grow, but gets its name from its deep red color. It has a sweeter flavor, and doesn’t bring along the sharp bitterness, or the same strong acidity that other types of grapefruits can have. We decided to add a bit of monk fruit to sweeten the beer further, and to mimic the sweetness from a fruit soda, but in a natural way. Monk fruit is a wonderful natural sweetener that is 2.5 times sweeter than sugar, but doesn’t add the carbs or calories that regular sugar does. Most importantly, the sugar does not ferment, and this allows us to sweeten the batch up to balance out the sharpness of the grapefruit. To call this beer refreshing is an understatement. Part fruit juice, part beer, with a bit of tartness and sweetness, this beverage takes drinkable to another level. Is there is a more perfect beer style to combat the Kyoto summer heat!?StyleRadlerSeriesNakamaABV4.0%IBU10Gas Volume2.7OthersRuby Red Grapefruit, Monk fruitCategoryHapposhuJAN4589718742595Shipping Start2025/05/08Regarding shipping datesPlease note that, when multiple items are ordered together, they will be shipped out after the shipping start date of the latest product in the order.Best Before2026/01/05
